Device for use with ski bindings for selectively retaining binding members which can be lifted from the ski

ABSTRACT

Device for use with ski bindings for selectively retaining binding members which can be lifted from the ski, particularly a heel plate or sole plate, wherein a spring-loaded locking member is provided in a housing that is fixed to the ski and said locking member is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the ski and is connected to a lever for displacing the locking member.

llnited States Patent n91 Hausleithner [4 1 Feb. 4, 1975 DEVICE FOR USEWITH SKI BINDINGS FOR SELECTIVELY RETAINING BINDING MEMBERS WHICH CAN BELIFTED FROM THE SKI [75] Inventor: Andreas Haus1eithner,Mittenwald,

Germany [73] Assignee: Heinrich Wunder, Dachau, Germany 22 Filed: Aug.3,1973 211 App]. No.: 385,233

[52] US. Cl 280/11.35 E [51] Int. Cl A63c 9/10 [58] Field ofSearch280/1135 R, 11.35 T,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,388,918 6/1968 Hollenback.1 280/1135 Y 3,575,437 4/1971 Unger 280/1135 T FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 300,634 10/1954 Switzerland 280/1135 Y Primary Examiner-M.Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Reinhard J. Eisenzopf Attorney,Agent, or Firm-1mirie, Smiley & Linn [57] ABSTRACT Device for use withski bindings for selectively retaining binding members which can belifted from the ski, particularly a heel plate or sole plate, wherein aspring-loaded locking member is provided in a housing that is fixed tothe ski and said locking member is displaceable in the longitudinaldirection of the ski and is connected to a lever for displacing thelocking membet.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB 75 FIG.2

DEVICE FOR USE WITH SKI BINDINGS FOR SELECTIVELY RETAINING BINDINGMEMBERS WHICH CAN BE LIFTED FROM THE SKI SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Devicefor selectively retaining a heel holding-down member which can be liftedfrom the ski, in which a locking member is mounted in a housing that isfixed to the ski and said locking member is displaceable in thelongitudinal direction of the ski, operable by a lever, and loaded by aspring which urges the locking member away from the holding-down member.

This invention relates to a device for use in ski bindings forselectively retaining binding members which can be lifted from the ski,particularly a heel plate or sole plate, to which a heel holding-downmember is secured, which device comprises a spring-loaded lockingmember, which is mounted in a housing that is fixed to the ski and saidmember is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the ski andconnected to a lever for shifting the locking member.

Devices of this kind fulfill above all the frequent desire of skiers tobe able to set the ski binding by a simple manipulation for downhillruns, when the heel is to be retained on the ski, and for cross-countryskiing, when the heel can be lifted from the ski. Such devices caneasily be provided in ski bindings having a springloaded cable ordiagonal pull hooks. in a known design the diagonal pull hooks aresecured to a backing member for the heel of the boot and said backingmember is selectively retained on the ski or released from it by alocking device, which is secured to the ski and which has a lockingmember that is guided in a housing, which is fixed to the ski, saidlocking member being operable by a pivoted lever.

In cableless safety ski bindings the previously disclosed devices weredesigned so that the locking member is incorporated in or constitutesthe safety release element. Because the locking member was biased by arelease spring, which urged the locking member to its locking position,the conventional safety release jaws could not be used or at least couldnot perform their normally intended function.

lt is an object of the invention to provide a device in which for thispurpose the locking member is loaded by at least one spring which urgesthe locking member out of its locking position.

Another object of the invention resides in that said locking memberconsists of a U-shaped member and is connected to a lever for displacingthe member, which lever is pivoted in the housing on an axis that istransverse to the skiing direction and has a slot which is downwardlyinclined toward the heel of the boot, and a recess, which is disposedbelow the slot and serves to receive the web of the U-shaped member.

It is a further feature of the invention that said lever consists of asector of a disc having a curved surface which faces the heel of theboot and has a center of curvature which lies substantially on thepivotal axis of the lever.

Further details of the invention will be explained more fully withreference to the drawing, which shows an embodiment of the deviceaccording to the invention by way of example in conjunction with a heelholding-down member mounted on a sole plate.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing the heel holdingdown member with thesole plate and the device according to the invention in a longitudinalsectional view and FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing the arrangement ofFIG. 1.

A heel holding-down member 1 is pivoted on an axis 3 to a sole plate 2,which consists of two parts 7 and 8. The member 1 is loaded by a returnspring 4, which bears at one end 5 on the sole plate and at the otherend6 on the part 8 of the heel holding-down member.

The sole holding-down member I carries a pressureexerting member 12'.which is provided with rollers l3, l4, 15 to facilitate the steppinginto the binding. The member 1 has in the retaining body 35 asubstantially vertical bore 16 to enable an operation of the soleholding-down member 1 with a ski pole. There is also a U- shaped member17, to which a longthong 18 can be secured. The sole plate 2 consistspreferably of flexible plastics material and at its forward end isgripped in fixed position or so as to be hinged on a transversehorizontal axis whereas the heel end can be lifted from the ski 9 and bymeans of a clamping device 38, which is secured to the ski 9 behind thesole plate 2, can be selectively locked against being lifted.

A toe iron for holding the toe portion of the boot is provided adjacentto the forward end of the sole plate 2 outside of the fixing means orhinge for the sole plate. The toe iron and the heel holding-down memberconstitute a ski binding, into which the skier steps. When the skierapplies pressure with his heel to the rollers 13, l4, 15, the heelholding-down member 1 will pivotally yield against the force of thespring 4 toward the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 so that thebinding is in gripping position.

The clamping device 38 consists of a housing 19, which is secured to theski by two screws 20, and a U- shaped member 10, which is mounted in thehousing for a longitudinal displacement therein. The two legs of theU-shaped member 21 serve as detent pins. A lever 11 is pivoted to thehousing on an axis 22 which is transverse to the skiing direction. Bymeans of the lever 11, the legs of the U-shaped member canbe'selectively displaced into grooves 12 formed on the surface of thesole plate 2 or can be moved back out of the region of said grooves. Asa result, the sole plate can be locked against being lifted from the skiwhen a down-hill run is desired, or the sole plate can be released whenfor climbing or cross-country skiing the skier desires to lift the heeland sole plate 2 from the ski.

The lever 11 has the shape ofa sector of a cylindrical disc and acts asan eccentric member, which has an axis of rotation 22, which containsthe center of curvature of the cylindrical surface 23 of the lever l.The U- shaped member 10 is loaded by two helical compression springs 24,which are symmetrical to the longitudinal axis ofthe ski and have centerlines that are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ski. Each ofthese compression springs bears at one end on the housing 19 and at theother end on the web 25 of the U-shaped member. The springs 24 tend tomove the detent pins 21 out of the region of the grooves 12. The lever11 has a slot 26, which extends throughout the thickness of the lever,i.e., throughout the width of the surface 23, and which opens freely inthe cylindrical surface 23 and is downwardly inclined against the heelof the boot and the sole plate 2. The center line a of the slot includesan angle a with the radius r of the surface 23. At the lower edge of theslot 26, the surface 23 is formed with a concave groove 27, which alsoextends throughout the width of the surface 23 and serves to receive theweb 25 of the U-shaped member 10. To enable a longitudinal adjustment ofthe clamping device 38 on the ski 9, openings 29 and 30 for receivingthe point of the skiing pole are formed in the upper surface of thelever 11 before and behind its axis of rotation 22.

The device according to the invention has the following mode ofoperation: For downhill runs, the clamping device is in the positionshown on the drawing because the heel of the boot is to be forced firmlyagainst the ski. If the skier desires to lift the heel from the ski 9,e.g., for cross-country skiing, he will insert the point of the skiingpole into the forward hole 29 of the lever 11 and will turn the lever 11in the direction of the arrow A against the force of the spring 24. As aresult, the web 25 of the U-shaped member leaves the groove 27 and underthe action of the relaxing spring 24 enters the slot 26 so that thedetent pins are pulled out of the region of the grooves 12 in thesurface of the sole plate 2, which can now be lifted from the ski 9.When it is desired to lock the sole plate 2 in position, the skierforces the ski pole into the hole 30 of the lever 11 and turns the lever11 in the direction of the arrow B so that owing to the inclination ofthe slot 26 the U-shaped member 10 is forced out of the slot 26 in thedirection of'the arrow C against the force of the spring 24 and pushesthe detent pins 21 into the grooves 12 in the surface of the sole plate2, which lies on the ski. In its end position, the web 25 snaps into thegroove 27, which in this position of the lever 11 must lie below theaxis of rotation 22 of the lever 12.

lt will be understood that various modifications in structure can beadopted within the scope of the invention. For instance, when alongitudinal adjustment of the clamping device 38 is desired, thehousing 19 can be longitudinally displaceably mounted on a track whichis secured to the ski 9 and to which the housing can be fixed in itsadjusted position.

What is claimed is:

1. in a ski binding comprising a holding-down member for the heel of theboot, which member is adapted to be lifted from the ski, the improvementcomprising a housing which is secured to the ski adjacent to that end ofsaid holding-down member which faces the rear end of the ski, a lockingmember in the form of a U- shaped member which is mounted in the housingfor a displacement in the longitudinal axis of the ski under theinfluence of a spring, which urges said locking member away from theholding-down member, and means for moving the locking member against theforce of said spring and for fixing said locking member in a position tohold the holding-down member against the ski, said moving meansincluding a lever connected to displace the locking member and pivotedin said housing on an axis which is transverse to the skiing direction,said lever having a slot which is downwardly inclined toward the heel ofthe boot, and a recess which is disposed below said slot to receive theweb of the said U-shaped member.

2. The improvement set forth in claim 1, in which two recesses forreceiving the point of a ski pole are formed in the upper surface ofsaid lever before and behind said pivotal axis, respectively.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 1, in which said lever consists ofa sector of a disc having a curved surface which faces the heel of theboot and has a center of curvature lying substantially on the pivotalaxis of the lever.

4. The improvement set forth in claim 1, in which said recess forreceiving the web of said U-shaped member lies below said pivotal axisof said lever when said locking member is in the position to hold saidholding-down member against the ski.

1. In a ski binding comprising a holding-down member for the heel of theboot, which member is adapted to be lifted from the ski, the improvementcomprising a housing which is secured to the ski adjacent to that end ofsaid holding-down member which faces the rear end of the ski, a lockingmember in the form of a Ushaped member which is mounted in the housingfor a displacement in the longitudinal axis of the ski under theinfluence of a spring, which urges said locking member away from theholdingdown member, and means for moving the locking member against theforce of said spring and for fixing said locking member in a position tohold the holding-down member against the ski, said moving meansincluding a lever connected to displace the locking member and pivotedin said housing on an axis which is transverse to the skiing direction,said lever having a slot which is downwardly inclined toward the heel ofthe boot, and a recess which is disposed below said slot to receive theweb of the said U-shaped member.
 2. The improvement set forth in claim1, in which two recesses for receiving the point of a ski pole areformed in the upper surface of said lever before and behind said pivotalaxis, respectively.
 3. The improvement set forth in claim 1, in whichsaid lever consists of a sector of a disc having a curved surface whichfaces the heel of the boot and has a center of curvature lyingsubstantially on the pivotal axis of the lever.
 4. The improvement setforth in claim 1, in which said recess for receiving the web of saidU-shaped member lies below said pivotal axis of said lever when saidlocking member is in the position to hold said holding-down memberagainst the ski.